A century of Ray: A year-long celebration of satyajit Ray’s birth centenary

“A CENTURY OF RAY: A YEAR-LONG CELEBRATION OF SATYAJIT RAY’S BIRTH CENTENARY, 2020-21”:  A SPECIAL LECTURE ON “LOOKING AT THE APU TRILOGY FROM 2020” 
BY DR. ANINDYA SENGUPTA, DEPARTMENT OF FILM STUDIES, JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY 

ORGANIZED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FILM STUDIES,  THE BHAWANIPUR EDUCATION SOCIETY COLLEGE AND LUMIÈRE: THE BESC FILM CLUB

Satyajit Ray, one of the most eminent figures of world cinema and a universal genius in his own right, was born on 2^nd May 1921 and has left an indelible legacy of images, sounds, and words. To commemorate the occasion of his birth centenary, the Department of Film Studies and Lumière, the BESC Film Club established earlier this year, planned a year-long initiative to reappraise Ray’s works. The first event of this initiative was a special lecture by Dr. Anindya Sengupta of the Department of Film Studies, Jadavpur University, titled “Looking at the Apu Trilogy from 2020”. It was held on Friday, 28^th August 2020, over Google Meet 4:30 PM onwards. Around 150 registered members of the audience attended the lecture including students and faculty of the college as well as of other institutions from various parts of the country and even abroad. 

The event commenced with an introduction to the year-long initiative by Ms. Raktima Ghosh of the Geography department, a member of the Lumière core committee. She then passed the mic to the convenor of the event Mr. Arup Ratan Samajdar of the Film Studies Department and the co-ordinator of the Lumière core committee. Mr. Samajdar invited Dr. Suchandra Chakravarty, the Teacher-in-Charge of the college, who delivered the welcome address setting a perfect tone to the maiden venture. Mr. Samajdar then introduced Dr. Anindya Sengupta to the audience before the guest speaker himself took the stage.  

Dr. Sengupta’s lecture focused on Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy with the current time and circumstances in view. He critically analysed not only Ray’s approach to cinema, but also his perspective on the entire act of filmmaking.  

The hour-long lecture was followed by an interactive Q&A session with the audience which was moderated by Mr. Supratik Sur Roy of the Film Studies Department. This segment was followed by the Vote of Thanks delivered by Mr. Soumya Ganguly of the Film Studies department. Ms. Srimoyee Roy of the Department of English, also a member of the Lumière core committee managed the technical aspects of the event. 

The students of the college actively took part in organising the programme. Riddhadev Bandyopadhyay (B.A.) and Souradipta Roy (B.Sc.) were the student co-ordinators for this event. The poster was designed by Ishani Bose (B.A.). The musical presentation at the beginning of the event was facilitated by Sulagna (B.A.) 

Overall, the programme was a wholesome experience for the audience, and opened up new avenues within the existing scholarship about Ray’s cinema. In his lecture, Dr. Sengupta had drawn our attention to the notion of empathy as a key element in understanding the cinema of Satyajit Ray. At a moment in history, when the global pandemic has forced us to retreat within the confines of our homes, and we have grown doubtful and apprehensive about the outside world, this idea of empathy will surely help us retain a necessary part of our humanity, as all great works of art are expected to. 

Glimpses of the event: 

Introduction by Ms. Raktima Ghosh 

Welcome address by Dr. Suchandra Chakravarty 

Dr. Anindya Sengupta delivers the lecture on Ray’s Apu Trilogy 

Presentation of references by Dr. Sengupta during his lecture 

Mr. Arup Ratan Samajdar delivers the closing remarks 

Interactive Q&A session following the lecture 

Mr. Soumya Ganguly delivers the vote of thanks